Review: SOL: Exodus (PC – Steam)

Before you play this game, you need to do something first. Go make up several epic one-liners that you can say as you dominate your opponent in a dogfight. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, I am very proud to announce the return of the space combat-action simulator in the form of SOL: Exodus. As Seamless Entertainment’s first original title, SOL: Exodus brought me back to when I was ten, playing Star Wars: X-Wing on my computer. The exhilarating adrenaline rush from dogfights, the thrill of going into battle against impossible odds, all that came quickly back to me in SOL.

SOL is set 500 years into the future as humanity struggles to find a new home outside of our solar system. As you and the UCS fleet search for a new home planet, an insidious religious cult known as COD attacks the fleet. They are bent on the idea that the search for a new planet is futile, and that all should convert to their god so they may be saved in the final days of our solar system. In other words, the COD is an enemy you really can love to hate. It is your job to fight back against the COD with a small, heroic band of allies and ensure humanity’s survival. Couple that with several snarky remarks by your teammates aimed at their fanaticism and the game gets even more enjoyable.

Take on capital ships!

With a basic understanding of the storyline established, let us examine the gameplay itself. SOL is truly an easy game to just sit down and play, unleashing the thrill of space combat without having to deal with overly complex controls. The game is designed to have the missions played in a linear fashion. However, if there is a particular mission you liked, or you didn’t get all the achievements, you can go back and replay a mission. The combat mechanics were fluid and the targeting systems were not difficult at all to use, making combat easy to enjoy. While I used a mouse and keyboard, you can use a joystick and Seamless is adding a virtual joystick feature for people like me who don’t have one. Graphically, SOL surpassed what I expected, with everything from the environment to the space stations and other ships being delightfully detailed. The sounds and visual effects also were impressive. Particularly I appreciated what they did for your ship’s machine gun. They made it sound futuristic, but it still had the bark that present-day guns have, not the weak ‘pew-pew’ noise that is all too often given to space weapons.

For all its glory, there are a few shortcomings to the game though. In the version I tested, colliding into objects would not hurt you at all. However, enemy fighters would explode on contact with objects. Great when you’re trying to win, not so much when you’re trying to make it fair. Furthermore, the entire game is setup in a HUD like view, meaning you never see any detail of your ship, cockpit or outside. While I didn’t find it necessary, it is just one of those nice things to have in a game. Luckily I have been informed that a large patch has been made to fix all that and more. The patch includes having mission checkpoints, varied difficulty levels, a cockpit view, collision damage and the afore-mentioned virtual joystick. However there is still one thing that the game is lacking for me. It is strictly a mission-based game, which means that the replay value just isn’t there for me. There is no multiplayer, no custom battles, just the missions. Seeing a different form of gameplay included would have made this game exponentially more fun to play over and over.

Overall though, SOL: Exodus is a definite triumph. It certainly accomplishes what Seamless was trying to do when developing it by bringing us back to the days of Wing Commander. Its simplicity to play, fluid mechanics, detailed graphics make it easily worth the money. If they ever develop a form of gameplay besides the missions, then I can unequivocally say this game is worth buying. Therefore I must conclude that SOL: Exodus is a great game that really brings back the joys of space combat to those who have missed it for so long.

Final Rating: 8.5/10

CBR Break Down:

Console Played On: PC

Approximate Time to Completion: Give or take 6 hours

Game Achievements: 24 out of 54

Price: $9.99 (Direct Download via Steam)

Recommended Purchase Price: $9.99

Enter to win a copy of SOL: Exodus!

Seamless Entertainment has been kind enough to hook us up with a download code for the game so that we can in-turn reward one of you with a free copy! You can gain up to three entries, please read the details on how to enter below:

First entry: Tell us your favorite space combat game in the comments below and you are entered to win! That’s it, whatever your answer, just tell us in the comments below and you have your first entry!

Remember that you have to follow us; any winner we attempt to DM via Twitter who isn’t, automatically forfeits their win. If you enter via Twitter include your twitter name in your post below, winners who have their twitter listed will receive their codes immediately after winning.

Third Entry:Like our Facebook page and then simply like the post on our wall for this article. Simple as that. (Keep in mind the article may be lower on the Facebook page towards the end of the contest and it may take a minute or two to post on FB)

Contest will go until Wednesday at 8pm CST. A pool of all eligible entries will then be randomly selected from and the winners will be notified. CBR reserves the right to disqualify any entry we feel either violated the rules or spirit of the contest, including attempts at duplicate entries. Winner selected with no twitter name provided will be notified by email and have 24 hours to respond. We do not always announce the names of contest winners, but do encourage them to post about their win.